Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance gets behind national Road Safety Week

When it comes to road safety, speed matters! That is the simple message for this year’s Road Safety Week, which launches across the UK today (Monday, November 16).

Organised by national road safety charity Brake, the No Need to Speed campaign aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads by raising awareness of the dangers of speed.

New research from Brake highlights the issue of excessive speeding, with nearly one in five of all UK drivers and one in three 25-34 year olds admitting to speeding at more than 100mph on a public road.

The charity also found that one in three of all UK drivers, and nearly half of 25-34 year olds admitted to having been in a vehicle speeding at more than 100mph on a public road, either as the driver or a passenger.

Last year in Northamptonshire, more than 60,000 drivers were caught speeding on the county’s road network, with the highest excess speeds recorded more than double the legal limit.

Three drivers were recorded travelling at nearly three times more than the 20mph, 30mph and 40mph speed limit zones permit, when they were caught driving at 54mph, 83mph and 104mph respectively.

While on roads with 50mph, 60mph and 70mph speed limits, the highest excessive speeds were more than double the legal limit with three drivers caught travelling at 114mph, 131mph and 149mph respectively.

As part of the week of action, officers from Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team will be carrying out additional enforcement activities across the county in conjunction with the Force’s ongoing road safety campaign – Operation Journey.

Operation Journey aims to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads. Speeding is one of the main contributors, and is one of the fatal four driving offences.

In 2019, 42 people were killed on the county’s road network, and a further 347 were seriously injured. Excessive speed was a contributing factor in about 14 per cent of collisions.

Detective Inspector Tony Kennedy, of the Operations Team at Northamptonshire Police, said: “Speeding kills – it is as simple as that. Yet so many drivers still choose to do it.

“We witness the devastation the impact of a road collision has, not only on those who are involved but also on their families, friends, colleagues and even the wider community.

“It is hard to understand why some drivers continue to put their own life and the lives of others at risk by speeding when the consequences of getting it wrong are so extreme.”

Anyone who is caught speeding can take a speed awareness course if eligible, or will receive a fixed penalty fine of £100 and three penalty points on their licence.

If they elect to go to court, fines and points will be decided by Magistrates, while those caught exceeding 100mph face a driving ban of up to eight weeks and a fine of 150 per cent of their weekly income.

In addition to the enforcement activities, Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance (NSRA) will be raising awareness of the dangers of speeding through educational messaging on social media.

The NSRA brings key partners together to work on initiatives which aim to improve road safety across the county through education, engagement, engineering and enforcement.

Set up in November 2018, the partnership is between Northamptonshire Police, Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service, The Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Northamptonshire Highways representing Northamptonshire County Council.

Team Leader for Road Safety and Traffic regulations Orders at Northamptonshire Highways, John Spencer said: “Speed is one of the major factors in road deaths and we are really pleased that Brake has chosen this theme for its Road Safety Week 2020.

“Modern cars make it very easy to travel a little faster than you want to and even a couple of miles an hour extra can have a devastating impact if you are involved in a collision. Through campaigns such as this, we can improve road safety for everyone.”

For more information about Road Safety Week visit www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk

ENDS